The present invention relates to improvements in video (i.e. television) cameras of the type which record electronic video signals on magnetic records. More particularly, this invention relates to a lap and dissolve apparatus for use in such cameras.
The invention is especially suitable for use in providing a lap and dissolve feature for electronic motion picture cameras which record television signals on magnetic records, such as magnetic tapes, discs, and the like. The invention is applicable to video recording systems generally and may be used in providing edited television programs.
Lap and dissolve effects between successive scenes recorded by video techniques have been achieved by controlling the amplitudes of separate video signals derived from separate scenes (see, for example, the disclosures of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,296,367; 3,392,231 and 3,673,324.) According to these disclosures, the video signals of successive scenes are mixed and re-recorded. Special mixers are used to preserve synchronizing and color subcarrier components of the video signals. This technique for producing lap and dissolve effects does not operate in real time and, hence, does not enable successive scenes to dissolve and lap into each other as they are taken by the video camera operator. Further, the complexity and the associated cost of the lap and dissolve apparatus heretofore suggested makes them suitable for use in professional editing systems used in motion picture or television studios, not for use in video cameras which may be used by amateurs and home movie enthusiasts.